Slacking!

Wow, almost a year since I posted an update.... "slacking" is an understatement.

Fear not though, girlonthewater is still girl on the water, albeit slightly less so these days.

After a year and a half mooring in Sheffield basin / Tinsley marina, I decided that the Sheffield and South Yorkshire navigation is perhaps not for me in the long term. It's certainly different, but so is artichoke - and I don't really care for that more than once in a blue moon either!

The Sheffield and South Yorkshire navigation certainly has character, if abandoned shopping trolleys, carling cans and crisp packets are your idea of picturesque scenery. I'm glad that I came to Sheffield, but itchy feet have got the better of me, and Muddy Waters is now off on adventures in search of pastures new (or perhaps old, time will tell!).

The waterways up here have opened my eyes to how the canals were used by industry in days gone by. An old abandoned steelworks on the river near Rotherham became a favourite unofficial mooring for a short while, ideal for scenic lunchtime stop-offs before facing the wrath of Rotherham itself. In 1.5 years, I have also seen the other side of the waterways up here - locks excluded from the public with prison style fencing, presumably to keep the local dirt-biking towpath youth (of which I encountered several) from vandalising the locks; teenagers with nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon than throw stones from bridges at passing narrowboats; youngsters whose weekday evenings include untying boats in the name of "fun". Perhaps I'm being overly negative, looking back fondly at the pretty narrow canals of the Midlands, but I think it's time to give them another try. It's not that I dislike the waterways up here, but I think I've had my fill of them for now at least.

To end on a more positive note, we've spent the last few very enjoyable weekends on the boat making our way back to the Trent and plan to explore a lot of unknown territory by narrowboat this summer. The boy and I are still very happily together, and adventure awaits.

More soon!